(Torrance, CA, December 18, 2017) The California Lightning Sprint Car Series has released the schedule for its historic 25th Anniversary Season in 2018.

The schedule features 17 races and it begins at the Bakersfield Speedway on March 17th and closes at the same track eight months later. In total, there will be five races at Bakersfield. Ventura Raceway, the home track of the CLS, will host seven races. Perris Auto Speedway and Northern California’s Placerville Speedway will host two races each. The lone track with one race is the Santa Maria Raceway.

Special events on the schedule include three races at Bakersfield. The aforementioned season opener at the Kern County oval in March, the June 16th “Civil War” series opener on June 16th and the season finale in November when the CLS shares the bill with the USAC National and Western Midget Series.’ The races at Perris Auto Speedway will be at the “Salute to Indy” on May 26th and “California Racer’s Hall of Fame Night” on August 18th. The annual Ventura County Fair race will be on August 1st. The “Civil War” series will conclude with races on back to back nights at Placerville on September 21st and 22nd.

For the second year in a row, the CLS will be part of the USAC National Lightning Sprint Car Series. As well as earning CLS points, drivers will also be earning points in the USAC National Series that pits them against lightning sprint drivers in other regions of the country. In 2017, three CLS drivers – Bobby Michnowicz (3rd), Jarrett Kramer (4th) and Aiden Lange (7th) – placed in the top 10 in USAC National points.